Bonding Via Ambush
by Lisa Telramor
Summary: Sora and Kairi decide Riku has been too serious lately and needs a smile.


_For the commentfic prompt: Kingdom Hearts, Riku + or / Sora (+ Kairi), "...Why are you looking at me like that?"_

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"…Why are you looking at me like that?" Riku took a step back from Sora. Sora tried not to laugh as he kept grinning. Riku bumped into Kairi behind him and whirled around. "Holy—you too?"

Kairi had no reservations about giggling as she reached out for him.

Riku dodged back, moving away from both of them. When both Sora and Kairi smiled like that, it usually meant something really uncomfortable in his future. "Guys, knock it off." He took a step back, then another as both his friends advanced on him. "I'm going to use Stop on you, don't think I won't."

"Don't run away, Riku," Kairi said. She lunged forward, trying to catch his wrist, but Riku was too fast. "It's nothing bad."

"Yeah, real convincing when you say it with a smile like an alligator." He dodged back again, feet sinking in loose sand as he stepped past the line between trail and beach.

"Oh no you don't!" Sora said. He dived at Riku's knees, sending them both flying. At least sand was softer than stone.

"Ow!" All the breath left Riku's lungs a second time as Kairi threw herself across his chest to hold him down.

"Surprise attack!" she shrieked, digging her fingers into his sides.

Riku yelped and tried to squirm away, but Sora had his legs pinned and was tickling the backs of his knees and Kairi effectively had him pinned. "Ah!" He strained to get away as helpless laughter bubbled up from his chest. "What—are you—five?" he gasped, wiggling until he got an arm free to yank her off balance and flip all of them over. Riku grinned as he was the one sprawled over them and twitched his fingers against Kairi's arm pits.

"No fair!" she laughed.

Riku had the upper hand until Sora managed to get his shoes off. It took a half second to remember not to kick him in the face when Sora tickled the sole of Riku's foot, and then they were in one big pile with Riku trying to get at the side of Sora's neck—the only place he was ticklish, the brat—and fend off Kairi's side attacks. Eventually he was overwhelmed again, Sora trapping Riku's arms to his sides while Kairi tickled whatever part of him was within reach.

Riku laughed and struggled until his ribs hurt, and finally gave in.

"Fine!" he gasped. "Fine, you win!"

"Ha!" Kairi pumped one fist in the air. "Take that! We still win tickle wars!"

"Only…because…you and Sora….team up," Riku panted, relaxing against Sora as his arms were finally released. He jabbed Sora with an elbow because arm pinning should not be a legal move in a tickle war.

"Well yeah," Kairi said. "We play to win."

"And you're way more ticklish," Sora said.

"You're a freak of nature for only having one vulnerable patch of skin," Riku shot back, finally catching his breath. He flopped back onto the sand. "Why was this necessary?"

"It wasn't but you've been frowning all day." Kairi settled next to him on one side with Sora on the other.

"So we decided to make you laugh." Sora grinned. There was sand caught in his hair and stuck to his face from when Riku had flipped them. He probably had a bruise somewhere from when Riku couldn't quite check his kick reflex.

"There are a lot more ways to accomplish that than tickling me."

"Yeah, but this way's more fun." With a shrug, Sora tried to scrub some of the sand from his hair.

"We haven't done that in years." Not since before the raft. They hadn't done tickle fights since before puberty started. Once they'd started being body conscious, all that touching hadn't seemed like a good idea, especially since they'd realized that accidentally grabbing Kairi's chest would be a lot more embarrassing than grabbing each other's.

"It seemed like a good idea," Kairi murmured. Her eyes were closed. She was probably as tired as Riku felt. She was almost as ticklish as he was. "And it did get you to laugh."

"Yeah." He couldn't remember what he'd been worrying about either. That was nice.

"Are you guys really going to fall asleep in the middle of the beach?" Sora asked.

"I'm comfortable," Riku said. "Want to join our nap?"

Sora snorted. "Sure. I'll be lazy with you."

"Eh, we can be responsible later," Kairi said. She yawned and shifted so she was curled loosely against Riku's side. "You make a good pillow."

He rolled his eyes. "Glad I'm good for something."

Sora mirrored Kairi's position. "I dunno, he's not a very soft pillow."

"I don't have to be anyone's pillow."

"Fine, you're a good pillow." Sora's spikes of hair itched against Riku's face. He wrinkled his nose and shifted until it was no longer bothering him. The sand was warm, the sound of the waves was steady and as familiar as his own heartbeat. Sora and Kairi's breathing was even and deep. He closed his eyes and felt them next to him, Kairi shining and bright, and Sora's warm light with its curls of darkness that were almost unnoticeable. Familiar. Nice. He hadn't been sleeping well since he returned to the islands, but with Sora on one side and Kairi on the other, falling asleep was the easiest thing in the world.


End file.
